McMillan Dam is to the left with part of Buffalo Springs Lake seen to the right in this photo taken from the rim above Lake Ransom Canyon. Staff photo.
When new members of the Lubbock County Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 asked if $7 million to repair McMillan Dam between Buffalo Springs Lake and Lake Ransom Canyon could be used for other things, it caused a controversy.
“The answer was ‘no.’ It was already earmarked for the dam. There was never any attempt to spend it anywhere but on the dam,” said Greg Thornton, Buffalo Springs interim lake manager, who works for the district’s board.
But when Lubbock County Commissioner Jason Corley heard there were questions about other possible uses for the money, he threatened to pull the funding at a meeting Tuesday with residents downstream of the dam in Ransom Canyon.
“When it made it back to me that they’re talking about spending that money on other things, I told them, I said, ‘I’ll pull those funds. I will pull that money,’” Corley told LubbockLights.com on Thursday.
Corley would need support from others on the Commissioners Court to make good on his threat.
“If that money does not get properly spent the way it’s supposed to, it’s not the water control district board that’s on the hook for it with the federal government. It’s Lubbock County,” Corley said.
The $7 million came to Lubbock County from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grants.
Corley is in favor of the project, but highly critical of the water control and improvement board, which oversees Buffalo Springs Lake and the dam. The board called a special meeting Friday (April 4) to discuss the dam, the “firing of the previous lake manager” and “the future viability of the Lubbock County Water Control and Improvement District No. 1.”
LubbockLights.com was not able to get details on why previous manager Brandon Powell was let go.
The dam needs work
Ransom Canyon City manager Elena Quintanilla is concerned about the condition of McMillan Dam.
“The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality did issue a letter stating that it was not hydraulically secure, and so that raises a lot of concerns,” Quintanilla said.
LubbockLights.com looked online for confirmation and found, “McMillan Dam [w]as identified as high risk by TCEQ,” according to a Texas water plan report.
Corley and Thornton both said there’s no immediate risk.
Right now, the base is twice as wide as the height. The project will make it three times wider instead.
“There’s no imminent danger of that dam coming apart. It’s a preventative safety measure,” Thornton said.
So why the warning from TCEQ? Both men agreed the safety standard changed long after the dam was built in 1959.
Thornton used to be the lake manager two decades ago. He accepted the interim manager job just a few days ago.
“I actually went through two dam inspections as a general manager. … They wanted us to move riprap down, repair the valves, trim the trees over 4 inches on the dam face, and we did all that,” Thornton said.
Riprap is a layer of large stones protecting soil from erosion.
Quintanilla would also like to see improvements to the spillway at the dam, where the water goes out of the lake during floods and into Lake Ransom Canyon. There’s no budget for that bigger project right now.
“There are probably several phases to this project and $7.5 million is just the start of the repairs. … There’s certainly more to be done than just the project or the allocation that the county gave us. And we’re very grateful for those funds,” Quintanilla said.
Corley said, “$7 million will expand the base of the dam. … This is not a fix. All this is a $7.3 million Band-Aid. I mean it’s a step in the right direction.”
The planning is about 90 percent done, Thornton said, while adding, “We’re really in the last hour of this.”
Corley vs. Thornton on trusting the board
Corley said the board has not done enough over the years to keep the dam in good shape.
“They have to enter into some sort of a plan to maintain that dam,” Corley said.
He even said in the meeting with residents they might consider suing the board to get the dam fixed.
Thornton disagreed, saying, “I wouldn’t have taken the job if I’d have thought there was any problem.”
Successful businesspeople serve on the board, he said. But Thornton also added there’s a measure in place to keep the project on track.
“I don’t think the lake actually handles the money. I think Freese and Nichols sends Buffalo Springs Lake a bill. We forward it to the county. The county pays,” Thornton said.
(Freese and Nichols is the engineering firm working on the dam.)
Corley added, “Buffalo Lake will receive an invoice. The invoice comes to Lubbock County. Lubbock County pays Freese and Nichols. That way we don’t ever lose control of that money.”
As for the future of the board, Corley does not think there’s much interest at the Texas Legislature to get rid of it. He’d like for members to be elected to single member districts instead of at-large.
Again, Thornton disagreed.
“I don’t have any problem. I don’t have any lack of confidence in their ability to make good, solid financial decisions. I watched them go through an audit. The lake has actually made more money this year than it did this time last year,” Thornton said.
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